The End of All Things
by Adams7
Summary: Alternate ending. All things must end, even the saga of the great Commander John Shepard. Witness Shepard's grand finale. Sequel to "One of Those Relationships" and "the Talk".
1. The End

**A/N: Wow, this took a lot longer to type up than I thought it would. Well, here it is: the first part of my version of the ME3 ending. You might want to check out its prequels, "One of Those Relationships" and "The Talk" before you read this. It's not necessary but you'll probably wonder who the heck this "Alice" person is if you don't (She's Shepard's twin sister). The original rough draft of this was done before the Extended Cut came out so keep that in mind as you read this. I was also greatly inspired by Anne Whynn's ending fic, "Ad Infinitum" so if you've read that fic you might recognize several elements. I've babbled long enough so without further ado, ON WITH THE SHOW!**

The End of All Things

1: The Ending

Commander John Shepard stared at the three choices the Catalyst had presented him with. On the left was the station where he could seize control of the Reapers at the cost of his physical form, becoming one with the Catalyst. On the right was the generator he would have to blow up to destroy the Reapers- along with all synthetic life including EDI and the geth. And dead center in front of him was the beam he would have to jump into to turn all life into an organic/synthetic fusion, at the cost of his own life. Those were his options… and why did his head hurt so much?

John glanced at the generator. He couldn't destroy the Reapers now without also destroying EDI and the geth. He wouldn't do it; he could not just toss away Legion's sacrifice like that. That left Control or Synthesis. Control was not an option, nobody, not even he, should have that much power. Could he really trust himself not to abuse it? No, Control wasn't an option either, that meant all that was left was Synthesis… but wasn't that what the Reapers wanted all along? Did he even have the right to force every living thing in the galaxy to go through this transformation? No, that wasn't an option either, there had to be another way.

John turned to the Catalyst, the source of it all. What was this being, this… star-child? Was it truly the master of the Reapers as it said? Was it God? John immediately dismissed that claim, he had never been particularly religious but he _knew_ that whatever God was, he wasn't some mad AI. And why did the Catalyst take on the form of the child from his dreams? How had it even known to take that form? Had that child ever been real, had it just been a figment of his imagination all along?

"Why?" he asked.

The strange star-child cocked its head to the side inquisitively. "Elaborate on your question."

"Why does it have to be these three options only?" John said. "There has to be another way."

The Catalyst shook its head. "There is none, I have given you the options. Choose."

"No"

The Catalyst's ghostly eyes narrowed. John Shepard clutched his head as the dull throb of his headache intensified. "_Choose._"

"No…" John cried out as the pain increased "I… won't…"

"You must, or all you know will perish and my solution will continue." The Catalyst boomed.

John shook his head "I… know… there… is… another… way…"

"There is not." The Catalyst spoke in its haunting, child-like voice. "Synthetics and organics cannot coexist. Conflict will always arise and one or the other will always perish."

"I… don't… understand…" John closed his eyes; the pain was getting worse.

"You do not need too."

"Yes… I… do…"

There was a pause before the Catalyst spoke again. "Very well."

John breathed a sigh of relief as the pain suddenly stopped. Then, without warning, it returned thousandfold. John released a bloodcurdling scream as he fell to his knees. The pain was like someone driving a thousand nails into his skull simultaneously, like molten metal was being poured over his brain, and like his head was being viciously ripped open all at once. Nothing, not even _dying_, was more painful than this. Then, just as John thought he couldn't take it anymore, he saw it.

The origin of the Reapers…

…Once, countless millennia ago, there was a mighty civilization. They were alone in the galaxy, the first civilization to evolve. They were the ones who built the Mass Relays and the Citadel. They forged a mighty empire that spanned across the galaxy and beyond. Then, at the height of their power, they made a fatal mistake: creating synthetic life.

Over time, the synthetics began to evolve and soon rebelled against their organic masters. The first civilization was caught by surprise and reeled from the onslaught of their mechanical servants. Desperate and left with no other option, the leaders of the first civilization realized that the odds were against them. Machines did not eat, they did not sleep, nor did they tire in their hunt. Machines showed no mercy, no fear, and could not be stopped. They realized that the only way to defeat synthetics was to _become _synthetics. So the first civilization seized billions of its people and retreated deep into the galactic core, where they used a new experimental technology to fuse themselves together and create Harbinger, the first Reaper.

Harbinger was ruthless and calculating, just as the synthetics were. But Harbinger was also more advanced than anything the first civilization had ever built before, and laid waste to the synthetics with its destructive power. Seeing Harbinger's success, the first civilization gathered more of their people and turned them into more Reapers, including Sovereign. Even with these powerful new weapons though, the war between the first civilization and the synthetics was long and hard. Eventually, it was Harbinger who suggested that the first civilization take its entire remaining populace, and convert them into Reapers. The leaders did not hesitate in seizing all of their remaining people and melting them down to create one last Reaper.

With nothing of their masters' organic weaknesses left, the synthetics fell. The Reapers, now victorious, calculated that future civilizations would make the same mistake. In order to counteract this, the Reapers created the Catalyst to find a solution to the problem. Faced with an impossible dilemma, the Catalyst determined that, in order to prevent future civilizations from being destroyed be their own synthetic creations, the Reapers must destroy all space-faring civilizations every 50,000 years, thus clearing the way for newer generations to evolve. Thus, the cycle began…

…John Shepard snapped back to the present and breathed a sigh of relief as the pain subsided. His hands released his head and fell loosely into his lap, where they remained. John bowed his head, staring off into space as he digested this new revelation. Finally, John's voice, hoarse from screaming, croaked out "I… understand…"

"Then you know that I am correct." The Catalyst stated.

"Yes…" John's shoulders slumped. He sounded… defeated, like all the fight had gone out of him. He raised his eyes to look at the Catalyst. "Can I… ask a favor?"

The Catalyst froze for a moment; it had not expected this. "What?"

"Can you connect me to com frequency 227-234?"

The Catalyst cocked its head to the side, like it was examining a curious new phenomenon. "Why?"

John lowered his eyes and said in a sorrowful whisper "I… I need to say goodbye to someone…"

The Catalyst hesitated for a second, then "Very well. Speak, they will hear you."

John nodded and took a shaking breath; he didn't have much time left. Raising his fingers to his ear, he spoke, reaching through space down to the burning planet below "Ash…?"

…

Ashley Williams scoured the rubble frantically. She refused to believe Shepard was dead. He couldn't be. Not again. She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Ashley," Liara said softly, "Please, we need to get you looked at."

Ashley shook her head. Her armor was a ruined wreck, she had burns all over her body, and she was pretty sure she had broken a few ribs. "N-Not until we find Shep-" she doubled over in a fit of hacking coughs. When her hand came away from her mouth, she found that her palm was covered in blood. _Well that's not good._

Liara grabbed hold of Ashley. "You're hurt. Please, Shepard wouldn't have wanted-"

Something inside Ashley snapped as she whirled on the asari. "Don't! Don't talk about him like he's… He's not! He can't be! H-He…" Ashley fell to her knees, finally overcome by the events of the past few hours.

Nearby, Javik and Tali were being patched up by medics while next to them, Garrus held a severely wounded Alice in his arms as another medic worked to save her life, refusing treatment for his own wounds until she was stabilized. Liara was, for the most part, unharmed, having been protected from Harbinger's attack by throwing up a barrier. James was lying on the ground, cursing up a storm as the medics worked to staunch the bleeding from the stump that was all that remained of his right arm. Of all of them, only EDI appeared unharmed, though her chrome finish was dulled by the dust that had been kicked up.

"**Ash…"**

Ashley froze at the sound of John's voice over the com. Her hands shaking, she slowly raised her fingers to her ear to touch the communicator. Her voice trembled as she spoke "Shepard?"

Liara started at the mention of the Commander but respectfully remained silent. Shepard's voice crackled over the com, sounding exhausted. **"Are you okay?"**

Ashley nodded "Yes."

"**And the others? Alice?"**

"Still alive," Ashley answered.

Sheppard sighed in relief **"Good…"** when he next spoke, he sounded… broken **"I'm about to activate the Crucible."**

A spark of hope lit in Ashley's chest. It was almost over, the Reapers were almost beaten. "Then what are you waiting for?" she cried "Do it!"

"**I'm not coming back Ash…"**

There was a long, horrible, echoing silence as Ashley felt the spark of hope be extinguished and she was once again smothered beneath the black shroud of despair. "…_What_?"

"**I'm not coming back…" **John said once more** "I'm not going to make it."**

Ashley couldn't believe what she was hearing, "No…" she whispered "No, no, no you don't mean that. I won't let you!"

"**It's not something that can be stopped Ash," **John said, his voice filled with regret. **"I have to do this."**

"Please don't John." Ashley pleaded; she had only ever called him by his first name in their most intimate moments, at all other times it was either "Shepard," "Commander," or "Skipper". "I can't lose you again…"

"**I'm… I'm sorry Ash…"** John Shepard's voice broke, sounding like he was on the verge of tears. **"I'm so sorry… I wish we could have had more time…" **Ashley fought to hold back her own tears as she heard several chocked sobs break their way free from John. **"Ash?"**

"Yes?" Ashley responded, close to tears.

"**Will you marry me?"**

There was a long silence as Ashley registered what John was asking. He was asking her to marry him!

John's voice whispered out of the com **"I… I just…"**

"Yes." Ashley said "Yes, John yes."

John breathed a sigh of relief **"Ash…"**

Ashley blinked back her tears; she wouldn't be able to hold them back much longer.

"**Tell… tell Alice I love her, tell Garrus to take care of her, and that I would have been proud to call him brother, and… and know that I'm doing this for you Ashley. I love you." **

Ashley felt tears start to roll down her cheeks "I love you too." But she was too late, the line had gone dead. John Shepard was gone.

Ashley's control broke and the tears flowed freely as she curled up into a ball and wept. Liara hadn't heard all of the conversation but she could figure out the rest. Her own tears starting to flow, Liara knelt down and wrapped her arms around Ashley as she grieved for Commander John Shepard and their life together that would never be.

…

John Shepard wept freely for the first time in over two decades as he disconnected the com. It wasn't fair. Why did he have to go through all this, fight the Reapers in countless battles, end centuries long conflicts, survive a suicide mission with his whole team intact, unite the _entire fucking galaxy_ into an armada to face the Reapers, and come out with more scars- both mental and physical- than he could count only to die now? Didn't he deserve a happy ending with the woman he loved? It just wasn't fair.

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, John tried to regain his control over his emotions. No, it wasn't fair. But since when was _anything_ in this fucked up life _fair_? He and Ashley had deserved a long and happy life together but events had conspired against them. So many people had perished, he'd lost so many friends; Anderson, Legion, Thane, Mordin, Kaidan, that it had been foolish to think that he'd get a happy ending. He should have realized a long time ago -and maybe a part of him had- that this would only ever end in one way: his death.

Regaining his strength, John Shepard rose to his feet one last time.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the Catalyst was looking at him curiously. "You asked the female to be wed to you."

"Yes." John said.

The star-child cocked its head to the side, an expression of bewilderment on its face. "Why? You seem to have accepted the inevitability of your death yet you asked anyways. Why?"

John Shepard stared into the Catalyst's eyes and said with the upmost conviction. "Because I love her."

The Catalyst merely stared at John for a moment before stating "I do not understand."

"Really?" Shepard said darkly as the Catalyst saw his expression become determined and his eyes shift into the cold clarity that only battle brings. For the first time in its long existence, the Catalyst felt a flicker of something deep in its consciousness: Fear. "Let me help with that."

What happened next, the Catalyst knew could only be attributed to some factor of Commander John Shepard's will that it had overlooked. The subtle pressure of indoctrination that the Reapers had been applying on Shepard since before the destruction of the Bahak system suddenly reversed direction and came back at the Catalyst tenfold. The Catalyst's avatar clutched its head, reflecting the distress the Catalyst was feeling as the overload of thoughts, memories, emotions, and sensations from all of John Shepard's life surged back through the indoctrination connection and into the Catalyst. The leader of the Reapers pleaded with Shepard to cease the assault but the Commander ignored it. It was so foreign, so chaotic, and so _alive_ that the Catalyst couldn't comprehend it. Just as the Catalyst had poured the history of the Reapers into the Commander's mind, John Shepard poured _all_ of himself into the Catalyst.

"ENOUGH!" The Catalyst boomed, shaking the entire Citadel as it sent an electrical surge through the ground and into Commander Shepard's body.

John cried out in pain as he felt the thousands of volts of electricity pump into him continuously but not for a single moment did he let up on the barrage on the Catalyst, clinging to the effort with all his might as he felt himself start to die.

Anderson, the man who had been his friend and mentor for all these years, who had taught John what it meant to be a leader.

Hackett, who had kept confidence in him throughout this fight.

His mom and dad, who had loved him unconditionally.

Thane, who had peace and redemption and in his final hours had prayed, not for himself, but for John.

Legion, who had sacrificed himself to give true life to the geth just as he had discovered his soul.

Kaidan, who had been so worried about losing control yet never showed his friends anything but kindness.

Mordin, brilliant, wonderful Mordin, who had died to give a future to the krogan.

Samara, who loved her daughters so much.

Grunt, having found a purpose with clan Urdnot.

Jacob, fighting to protect the woman he loved and their unborn child.

Jack, having finally found a family in her students.

Kasumi, the thief with a heart of gold.

Zaeed, the vulgar veteran with more war stories than anyone.

Wrex, trying to lead the krogan to a brighter future.

Miranda, finally free from her father and Cerberus.

Tali, having finally found a home.

Liara, who had become one of his dearest friends.

Javik, last of his kind.

Vega, young, brash, and ready to take on the universe.

EDI, discovering her humanity along with love in Joker.

Garrus and Alice. How he wished he could have seen how they would have turned out. After Kaidan's death, John had worried that Alice would be consumed by grief. Initially, he had been concerned when he'd learned about her' and Garrus' blossoming relationship. John had worried that Alice might get hurt. Now, he saw how happy they made one another. He would gladly die to give them a future.

Everything started to go dark, the pain was becoming unbearable. He thought of her silky dark hair, how her eyes twinkled when she was teasing, the brush of her lips against his, the brilliant white of her smile, her fiery temper that concealed a gentle heart. He thought of how she had grown past her mistrust of aliens, and free from her family's curse. The nights they spent together, how she had broken his heart on Horizon and then started to mend it with a simple message. How he had been gripped by terror when he had thought he might lose her on Mars, and how relieved he was when she recovered. The joy he felt when she returned to the Normandy, the nights spent playing poker in the lounge with the rest of the squad, the teasing remarks they made together toward Alice and Garrus. Her grace and skill on the battlefield, how she always smelled distinctly of gun oil, roses, and old books. Her love of Tennyson, the way his heart sped up when she was near. The night he told her he loved her, the night she made everything feel alright again, even if it was only for a little while. In his last moments, John Shepard let a faint smile grace his lips as he closed his eyes.

_Ashley_.

The Catalyst was dimly aware through the torrent of emotions of the dull thud as John Shepard's body fell to the floor.

Commander Shepard was finally dead.

So why wouldn't it stop?


	2. The Shepard

2: The Shepard

"NO!" Alice refused to believe what Liara had just told her and Garrus. "No, no, no! He can't be! He _can't_!"

Garrus held his lover tightly in his arms as she denied the news. "Alice… please…" He could barely find the strength to speak. It just couldn't be true…

The worst of Alice's wounds had been patched up but she still felt like someone had split her in two. She wasn't complete without her twin in her life. "He… He always…" choked sobs escaped her and Alice buried her head in Garrus' chest as she wept "He always comes back…"

Garrus clutched Alice tightly to him, wishing for all the galaxy that he could take her tears away. He slowly raised his gaze to the sky and froze at what he saw there. "Alice…" he whispered in disbelief "Alice look…"

Raising her head and following Garrus' gaze, Alice's eyes widened "_What_?"

…

Jack stood back-to-back with Miranda, husks swarming around them. "It's been a hell of a ride cheerleader." She said grimly to the ex-Cerberus operative.

Miranda nodded "I never thought I'd say this but… it was good to fight by your side Jack."

Jack snorted, even though a small part of her was touched by Miranda's comment "You're not going to go all mushy on me are you? That would so not be what I'd want to spend my final minutes listening to."

Miranda laughed "Don't worry; I still think you're an uncontrollable menace."

Jack smirked "Good to know Lawson. What say we give these motherfuckers hell!" she fired up her biotics, ready for the husks' charge.

It never came.

"Jack…" Miranda said complete and total shock in her voice. "Look up…"

Jack raised her eyes to the sky and her jaw dropped. "What the fuck?"

…

Wrex flung the Marauder away with his biotics. "IS THAT THE BEST YOU'VE GOT?!" he challenged, blowing a husk's head off with his shotgun.

Nearby, a rachni brood warrior was in the process of ripping a Ravager to shreds with its biotics and Grunt was charging headlong into a swarm of Cannibals. Wrex scanned the battlefield, noting how the krogan and rachni were slowly pushing the Reaper forces back. When he looked skyward to see if any Reapers were heading towards their position, he frowned at what he saw.

"What the?"

…

Lemm'Shal vas Idenna fired his shotgun at the mob of husks rushing him while next to him, a geth Prime did the same. He knew they wouldn't be able to hold out for long against this onslaught. Lemm swore as he ran out of thermal clips. He tossed his shotgun to the side and pulled out his pistol, downing a charging husk with a quick headshot. Suddenly, all the husks froze in place. Confused, Lemm looked up and gapped beneath his mask at what he saw.

"_Keelah_, what is happening?"

Next to him, the geth Prime looked up "No data available."

…

Samara punched a biotic fist through the Banshee's chest while around her, Jacob, Zaeed, and Kasumi fought the Cannibals surrounding them. As the Banshee fell dead, Samara Reaved a nearby Cannibal while simultaneously shooting a husk through the eye with her pistol. Jacob used his biotics to hurl a Cannibal into a shot from Zaeed's rifle while Kasumi stealthed behind another Cannibal and plunged her omni-blade into its skull.

Samara spun to shoot another Cannibal between the eyes when she noticed that it had frozen in place along with every other Reaper minion. Glancing upwards, Samara raised her eyebrows. Nearby, Zaeed grumbled "What the God'amn hell?"

…

All across the ruins of London, Reaper forces froze in place and every fighter, human, turian, quarian, salarian, asari, krogan, batarian, geth and rachni alike, looked skyward. As the sky lightened on the horizon, heralding an end to the long night, the Reapers ceased their attack, and the entire galaxy held its breath.

Down near the Conduit to the Citadel, Ashley lifted her head from her hands as she heard Admiral Hackett order the Allied forces to hold fire for the moment and wait to see what the Reapers were doing. Ashley's eyes widened as the beam, which had shut off previously, briefly activated before shutting off once more, leaving three motionless figures where it had once touched the ground. Her heart clenched. _John?_

Liara seemed to have noticed the bodies too. "Is that…?"

Before she could finish, Ashley broke away from the asari in a mad dash down towards the bodies, ignoring the pain that rocked her body and Liara calling after her. All she could see was the broken body lying face down in between the other two. She rushed forwards and fell to her knees in front of the body in N7 armor. Gently, she turned the body over and felt her heart shatter; it saw John Shepard.

Her eyes watered as she limply pulled John's body into her lap. His eyes were closed, making him seem almost peaceful, in spite of the cuts and scrapes his face was covered in. Ashley wasn't even aware of the bodies of Anderson and the Illusive Man to her left and right. She wasn't aware of Liara, Tali, Javik, James supported by EDI, and Alice carried by Garrus approaching. All she knew was that John Shepard was dead, and that her world had ended.

A glowing figure materialized in front of her. Ashley raised her tear stroked face to see a glowing white hologram of a child. She blinked from the light "Who…?" her voice broke and she bowed her head once more.

Liara managed to voice what Ashley could not "Who are you?"

The strange being regarded the asari briefly before returning its gaze to Ashley and the lifeless body of Commander Shepard cradled in her arms. "I am the Catalyst. I control the Reapers."

Ashley's head immediately snapped back up again, her anger blazing to life in a raging inferno. "_YOU_!" She snarled angrily, "This is _your_ fault! If you and your damned Reapers hadn't- if you didn't- he'd still be…" Ashley's voice failed her and she returned her attention to John.

"Your anger is understandable." The Catalyst admitted, "My solution… _I_… was incorrect."

"Your 'solution'?" Once again, Liara managed to voice what Ashley could not.

"Yes, the Reapers were created to harvest all advanced organic life forms before they could be wiped out by their own synthetic creations, preserving them in Reaper form while paving the way for new organic civilizations." The Catalyst paused "I understand now."

"Understand what?" Ashley managed to spit out.

"We had falsely believed that because our cycle was nearly wiped out by synthetics that other cycles would follow the same pattern. I was created to find a solution to that problem, thus the Cycle of Extinction was created." The Catalyst shook its head "I understand now, my mistake. We… _I_ had tried to apply order to chaos, not understanding that the very_ nature_ of life is chaos."

"What if a cycle had already created synthetics?" Tali asked.

"Then we would have used the synthetics for our goals, and once the cycle was complete, we would have assimilated what technology was useful to us and disposed of the rest." The Catalyst addressed EDI "We viewed pure synthetics as little more than tools to be used, we had refused to think of them as anything but machines that needed to be destroyed once they had outlive their usefulness. We had never considered the possibility that synthetics were… alive… that they had… souls." The Catalyst returned its gaze back to Shepard's body "Shepard has shown me the flaws in my logic. I see now that the Reapers were never a solution, we were merely a problem. That is why I have decided to give your cycle a chance."

"What are you saying?" Liara asked.

"The Reapers will leave." The Catalyst looked Liara in the eye "We shall return the Citadel to its proper location; we shall go back to dark space and wait. If Shepard was right, and synthetics and organics can coexist together in peace, then the Reapers shall never be seen again. But," the Catalyst added "If Shepard is wrong, and organics and synthetics turn against one another, than the Reapers shall return, and the cycle will begin anew."

Ashley, her eyes never leaving John's face, whispered "Go… Just, go…"

The Catalyst nodded and suddenly thousands of voices crackled over the radio.

"**The husks… they're dying!"**

"**The Reapers are leaving!"**

"**Did we win?" **

"**I can't believe it…"**

"**We drove them off!"**

"**We've won!"**

"**Haha! Yeah you better run you giant… weird… evil… tentaclely… Cthulu… cuttlefish… things!" **(That one was Joker)

Cries of jubilation and relief flooded the radio before Admiral Hackett's cut through the cacophony like a knife. **"What about Shepard?"**

Everyone fell silent, waiting to hear the news in their beloved hero. Finally, Liara managed to choke out "H-He's dead…"

And with those words, the celebration was over.

Silence reigned supreme as the news sunk in. Finally, the silence was broken by a lone bellow of grief that echoed throughout London as Grunt mourned for his Battlemaster. Soon, the bellow was taken up by other krogan throughout the ruins until it shook the very heavens. Wrex joined the cry in memory of the human that had believed in his people. Kasumi stood frozen in place, her eyes twinkling with tears as she remembered the friendly Commander. Zaeed swore and kicked the nearest piece of rubble as hard as he could. Jacob put a comforting hand on Samara's shoulder as, for the first time in centuries, the asari justicar lost her composure and fell to her knees. Jack screamed to the heavens, unable to understand why the universe had taken her first true friend from her. Miranda supported herself against a wall with one hand while wiping away her tears with the other. Every single geth shuddered as the last remnants of Legion grieved.

On the Normandy, Joker slammed his fist into the arm of his chair, not caring that he had broken several bones. At her station, Traynor, put her head in her hands and wept freely. In the med bay, Chakwas gasped and had to sit down lest she collapse. In engineering, Ken held Gabby in his arms as she cried while Adams put his head in his hands. Allers, who had been filming from the CIC, merely stood there, staring at the camera in shock with tears rolling down her cheeks as she was sure her audience was doing the exact same thing. On her ship, Rear Admiral Hannah Shepard collapsed and wept for her son as down on the ground her husband Carn did the same. Cortez ceased his work on repairing the shuttle and collapsed against it, tears starting to trickle out of his eyes.

James, the blood having stopped flowing from the stump that had been his arm, cursed and punched the ground with his remaining fist. Javik bowed his head in honor of the man who had earned his respect and friendship. EDI bowed her head as she felt this strange sensation inside her processors that could only be described as grief. Tali and Liara wept, holding each other in a vain attempt to find comfort. Alice turned her head and cried into Garrus' chest while the turian held her tightly, trying to comfort her in the midst of keening as he battled his own grief. The entire galaxy having been united against the Reapers, as one turned their attention to the heartbroken woman clutching her lifeless love as they were united once more in mourning the man who had sacrificed himself to save them all…

Commander John Shepard.

Tears streaming down her face, Ashley stroked John's cold, scarred, cheek. "You did it John…" she whispered "You saved us… I wish you were here to see it…"

She was suddenly aware of the Catalyst stepping closer. "Commander Shepard possessed a strength I had never expected from an organic. And in his mind, I saw that you were the beacon of light that kept him going until the very end." The Catalyst bowed its head "Thus, I think that he and you both deserve this gift."

The Catalyst stretched out its glowing white hand and placed it on John's forehead. Before Ashley could do or say anything, the cybernetics that Ashley could see beneath his skin through the cuts started to glow. Then, a miracle happened: John Shepard opened his eyes and took a deep, shuddering, breath.

Ashley's eyes widened and she ordered "GET ME A MEDIC!"


	3. The Beginning

3: The Beginning

The first time John Shepard died, his first thought as he cracked opened his eyes, was: _Why does the afterlife have overhead lights?_ This time, John's first thought when he woke up was closer to: _Not again. _

As he blinked his eyes to adjust to the sudden light, he realized he was lying on a gurney in the Normandy's med bay. A blanket covered him up to his shoulders, leaving only his head and arms free. One of his arms had an IV sticking out of it while the hand of the other was clasped in strong yet somehow delicate fingers. Forcing himself more awake, he realized that the hand belonged to the person sitting in a chair next to his bed.

"Hey Skipper," said an all-too-familiar voice. "Good to see you're finally awake."

With difficulty, John turned his head to see his visitor and felt his breath leave him as he recognized her. "Ash?" Confusion overwhelmed when Ashley smiled and nodded. "But… I died… does that mean…" _Are you dead too?_

Ashley smiled and squeezed his hand "I'm here John, we're alive. _You're_ alive."

John felt his breath leave him once again. "We're- we're _alive_?" when Ashley nodded relief washed over him. "It's over?"

"Yeah," Ashley confirmed. She explained how the Reapers had left and how the Catalyst had brought him back to life. "You've been in a sort of coma for the past month as your body healed itself."

John nodded as much as his stiff neck would allow then frowned. "Ash?"

"Yeah?"

"Why can't I move?" Fear gripped him; he could still move his head and neck to a limited degree, along with his fingers and toes, but other than that he was completely paralyzed.

Ashley sighed and squeezed his hand again "Yeah, your cybernetics took a beating. Chakwas isn't completely sure of the long-term effects but she thinks that you should regain full functionality."

"And if I don't?" John asked, a little worried.

"Then you don't," Ashley said leaning forward "I don't care if you're crippled for life John," she smiled "That just means I get to be on top. I love you, no matter what."

John smiled at Ashley, a little more relieved. Absent-mindedly, he ran his thumb over Ashley's fingers. He froze suddenly as he felt something on one of her fingers. "Ash?"

"Yeah John?"

"Why are you wearing a ring?"

Ashley smiled "You asked me to marry you, remember?"

John's heart sped up and his eyes widened "Oh,"

"'Oh'?" Ashley withdrew her hand from his and crossed her arms over her chest, fixing him with her patented "Williams' Glare". "You did _mean it_ when you asked me right?"

John winced as much as his paralyzed body would allow "Of course I did! I just…"

"Didn't think you'd come back?" Ashley finished.

John nodded, adding quickly "That doesn't mean I don't want to go through with it! God yes I do! I just… I was going to find the perfect ring and everything! Where'd you get that ring anyways?"

"My mom," Ashley said with a smile, grabbing hold of John's hand again. "It was hers; she told me that she and dad wanted me to have it when I got married."

John smiled "So when do you want to have the ceremony?"

"Well obviously we'll need to wait until you get cleared to leave by Chakwas, but after that I wouldn't wait too long. My mom's a bit of a traditionalist and she'll blow a gasket if I'm not married in a few months' time."

John's eyes widened as the implications of what she'd just said sank in. "You mean…?"

When Ashley nodded, John's heart burst with joy. Had he been able too, he would have tackled Ashley in a fierce embrace. As it was, he settled for squeezing her hand as tightly as he could and grinning from ear-to-ear. The Reapers were gone, it was finally over, and he could look forward to a bright future with the woman he loved. John Shepard had never felt so happy.

"Hey Commander, you're awake!"

And like that the moment was ruined.

John turned his head toward the door to see Joker, EDI, James sporting a cybernetic arm, and Chakwas entering the medbay. Chakwas immediately scanned John with her omni-tool, nodding to herself "You seem to be recovering swimmingly Commander." She deactivated her omni-tool and smiled at him "It's good to have you back."

Joker hobbled up to him and lightly punched him in the arm "You know I was joking when I said teach the Reapers how to love, Commander."

Edi cut in before John could reply "He did not actually teach the Reapers how to love Jeff, he merely convinced the Catalyst to give organics and synthetics a chance to coexist peacefully." She frowned as she said "It appears my day of reckoning will have to wait." When she noticed the strange looks everyone was giving her, EDI added with a straight face "That was a joke."

Clearly deciding to change the topic, James smiled and held up his cybernetic arm for John to see "Hey Loco, check out my new arm! Does it look badass or what?"

Chakwas shook her head "Mr. Vega, that prosthetic is only temporary…"

James ignored the good doctor "Hey, maybe I can get Sparks to tinker with, turn into something _really_ cool like… an arm-cannon! Yeah that'd be awesome! I could be a like badass male Samus!"

John shook his head at James antics and smiled at Ash. Yep, the future was looking bright alright.

…

Tali sat on a pile of rubble overlooking the ruins of London. She'd just received a message from Joker about Shepard being awake. Tali sighed, she'd go see him soon enough, but first, it was time she remembered…

Throughout the war, and during the past month, she'd been too busy to think about the people who were no longer with her. Now, she finally had the chance to grieve for lost friends. First there was Legion; she'd wanted to cry when she saw him collapse on that cliff. Imagine that, a quarian crying over the death of a geth. But she'd grown to consider Legion a friend, making her probably the first quarian in centuries to ever befriend a geth. Then she'd heard the news about Kal's sacrifice. At the time, she was so busy that she hadn't had time to think about it. All she had registered was this numb ache in her chest that she had paid no heed to. Now she had time to fully register what had happened. She felt grief flood through her at the memory of the marine. She remembered how he'd stood up for her at her hearing. She remembered how he'd been the first one to welcome her back to the fleet. How he'd insisted on calling her "ma'am". A faint smile touched her lips and tears started to twinkle in her eyes as she remembered the first time he'd called her Tali. She'd dared to hope that maybe, just maybe, after all this was over, she'd have someone to build that house on the homeworld with.

"Ma'am?"

Tali's heart skipped a beat as she heard the voice behind her. _Could it be?_ She turned around, daring to hope…

Her heart fell. The quarian male behind her was not Kal. He was slimmer, with a white and grey environment suit instead of the blood-red one Kal wore. She could see that the male was giving her a concerned look beneath his light blue faceplate. "Are you alright Admiral?"

Tali realized that his voice was different, younger than Kal's. "Yes," she said, getting to her feet and facing the quarian "Yes I'm fine. Do you mind if I ask what your name is?"

The quarian straightened up and saluted. "Lemm'Shal vas Idenna, ma'am. I was in charge of the Idenna's ground forces here on Earth."

Tali's eyes narrowed; that name sounded familiar… "Lemm'Shal vas Idenna you say? Weren't you the one who brought the biotic Gillian Grayson back to the Idenna as your Pilgrimage gift?"

Lemm nodded, still standing at attention "That's correct ma'am, although the Cerberus agents that followed us weren't exactly part of the gift."

Tali nodded "Right, I thought I'd recognized your name. What- Oh would you stop that!" Lemm relaxed his posture, assuming an at ease stance. Tali continued "Anyways, what are you still doing here on Earth?"

Lemm inclined his head. "Same as you Admiral, I'm helping with the reconstruction."

Tali nodded "Right, did you need something?"

Lemm shook his head "No ma'am, I just thought I heard someone crying. I thought I'd see if you were alright."

Tali looked out over the ruins. "Thank you Lemm, but I'm fine." She smiled to herself; "I'm fine…" she turned back to the young quarian "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a friend to go visit."

…

Liara found Javik at one of the landing zones, working with Cortez to fix up a small transport ship, big enough for one person. "There," she heard Cortez say, "She should get you to where you want to go, but I'm not sure she can go much further."

Javik regarded the pilot with unblinking eyes "That won't be a problem."

Cortez shrugged and left Javik standing by the vessel alone. Frowning, Liara walked over to Javik. "You're just going to leave?"

Javik regarded Liara "The Reapers are gone," he stated "There is no reason for me to stay." With that he turned his attention back to the ship, opening the cockpit.

Liara crossed her arms over her chest "Shepard's awake, you're just going to leave without saying goodbye?"

"I had already said my farewells to the Commander before the final assault on the Conduit." Javik said, climbing into the cockpit. "There is nothing else that needs to be said."

Liara's eyes narrowed as she marched up to the cockpit "What about our book? You can't just leave without finishing that!"

Javik began preparations for takeoff "The book is a foolish notion. I was stupid to agree to it. The galaxy would be better off if it forgot all about the Protheans."

Liara shook her head "You know that's not going to happen." When Javik just ignored her and started up the ships engines, Liara grabbed his arm "Listen to me!"

At the contact, memories flooded from Javik into Liara. She saw other Protheans lying on the ground, their throats slit. She watched as they slowly bled to death, and felt Javik's anguish. She saw the pain he was in, and suddenly, she saw what he planned to do.

Javik's growl brought her back to the present "Unhand me asari."

Liara released his arm, looking at Javik in shock. Slowly, she backed away from him. Javik resumed his preparations for takeoff when he heard Liara say "I guess I was wrong about you…"

Javik looked at Liara. She was standing a little ways off, her back to him. "What did you just say?"

Liara turned to face him, her expression hard. "I thought you would never let the Reapers beat you, but here you are doing just that."

Javik growled and turned back to the controls "You speak nonsense asari, the Reapers are beaten, my mission is fulfilled."

Liara shook her head "Our cycle may have been victorious, but you are just giving up on your fight."

"And what is my fight?" Javik asked darkly.

"As long as you live, the Reapers have not beaten the Protheans, as long as you carry on, you carry the spirit of your people with you." Liara said determined. When Javik snorted she continued "You would just give up? Take your own life because you're too much of a coward to carry on?"

Javik's head snapped up and he growled at Liara. "_What_ did you just call me?"

"A coward." Liara said sharply "A coward who doesn't have the strength to continue the fight."

Javik snarled and shut off the ship's engines, jumping out of the cockpit and marching right up to Liara. "I. Am not. A COWARD!"

Liara didn't flinch "Then prove it! Prove me wrong and _live_! Continue to keep the Protheans alive!"

Javik and Liara stared on another down for what seemed like ages. Finally, the unexpected happened: Javik's lips twitched into a smile. "You have spirit asari, I'll give you that much." With that he marched off, saying as he went "You may win this round, but this is far from over."

…

Alice and Garrus lay in one another's arms on Alice's bed. They had just come back from visiting with Shepard and Ashley and were now just enjoying one another's company. Garrus shifted nervously, trying to find the best way to broach the topic he wanted to discuss with Alice.

"What's wrong big guy?" Alice asked, noting his nervousness.

"It's just…" Garrus sighed "It's over; the war with the Reapers is finally over."

"And?" Alice asked, guessing that there was more to it than that.

Garrus glanced away "I… I just never seriously considered what would happen afterwards." Garrus looked Alice in the eyes. "But… the one thing I was certain of was… was that I wanted to spend whatever comes next with you…" he shook his head "I guess want I'm trying to say is-"

"Garrus stop," Alice silenced him by placing a finger on his lip-plates "I know what you're about to ask me. And the truth is it's just not the right time."

Garrus looked confused "I… I don't understand…"

Alice sighed and rested her head on Garrus' chest "I love you Garrus, but I don't like rushing these things." She raised her head and looked him in the eye "We have time now… let's take this slow."

Garrus sighed again "But… I don't want to waste a second with you."

Alice smiled "And you won't, but let's let this relationship grow by itself, let's not force it." She leaned forward and kissed him softly. "I love you Garrus Vakarian. And I want that love to last the rest of our lives."

Garrus nodded, a little disappointed but understanding her reasons. Alice must have seen this because she smiled seductively and said, "Come here big guy" she leaned in and kissed him again, this time more passionately.

Garrus chuckled against her lips as he felt Alice's hands slowly start to lift up his shirt, "Evil woman."

…

The Catalyst indeed kept its word and, once they had returned the Citadel to its original location, the Reapers vanished back into dark space. As for the Catalyst itself, the AI is believed to have returned to its slumber as it has not been seen or heard from since.

Many of the Citadel's residents perished during the Reaper attack, but for a few pockets of survivors. Kolyat Krios and Commander Bailey along with Dr. Michel had managed to evacuate several refugees from Huerta Memorial Hospital to Purgatory where Aria and her goons managed to hold off the Reaper forces. Matriarch Aethyta rallied several refugees and C-Sec officers in the docking bays and pushed back against the Reaper forces, driving them away from the docks and opening the up route for people to evacuate, although they suffered heavy casualties. The Council managed to evacuate the Citadel though Councilor Sparatus died defending the other Councilors, giving them a chance to escape.

After the Reapers had left, it was decided at Shepard's suggestion that the quarians, krogan, and the geth all be given positions on the Council in gratitude of their aid that became critical in what was now known as the Reaper War. The quarians and geth both accepted the Council's offer, and immediately began rebuilding Rannoch together. Admiral Koris was made Governor of Rannoch, acting as a bridge between the quarians and the geth while Admiral Raan was made the quarian Councilor. The asari and salarians feared that with the Genophage cured, the krogan would begin breeding out of control. Fortunately, Urdnot Wrex and newly appointed Councilor Bakara agreed to enact a restriction on breeding, provided the Council granted them new worlds to colonize. While the asari and salarians were reluctant to allow the krogan to spread, a surprising amount of support from the turians got the krogan several joint colonies with other species and eventually, once it was determined that the krogan _could_ in fact maintain a colony without completely destroying its ecosystem, the krogan were allowed to settle their own worlds.

While the rachni insisted that they desired only to be left alone for their aid against the Reapers, the Council insisted they join the galactic community, even going as far as offering reparations for the Rachni Wars. Eventually, at Shepard's insistence that it was in the rachni's best interests to join the galaxy, the Rachni Queen agreed to establish an embassy on the Citadel although she declined the offer of reparations, stating that the rachni needed no such thing. The batarians, having been decimated by the Reapers with only a small number of them left under Balak, were shocked when several human charity groups offered to assist them in rebuilding their worlds. Although Balak initially declined, stating that he didn't want his people indebted to humans, he soon realized that the batarians simply did not have the supplies to rebuild. Therefore, Balak grudgedly agreed to human aid. Eventually batarian society was rebuilt and although Balak still maintained a hostile attitude to humans, many batarians developed a much friendlier attitude toward other species. The humans, turians, and asari all eventually managed to rebuild their homeworlds although it would take many long years.

John Shepard was cleared to leave the Normandy's medbay one week after he woke up, having regained enough of his mobility that he could walk. After a visit to the future site of the Reaper War memorial in London where the Conduit had been, he and Ashley Williams were wed in a simple ceremony that was reserved for family and friends only. The reception, however, was another matter entirely; attended by almost a thousand people, (most of whom were politicians) and broadcast live throughout the galaxy. Much to the newlywed couple and the crew of the Normandy's amusement, Wrex got fed up with the "boring" reception and decided to make things more "fun" by throwing a piece of cake at the back of the salarian dalatrass' head (it never was discovered who thought it would be a good idea to sit the leader of the krogan within 200 feet of the salarian delegates' table). The dalatrass retaliated by throwing her own piece of cake back at Wrex only to miss and hit Bakara who demonstrated why you never piss off a pregnant krogan in the middle of a mood swing by lifting up one of the buffet tables and throwing it at the dalatrass.

What followed was a food fight of epic proportions.

Every salarian in the room immediately picked up the nearest piece of food and started pelting every krogan in reach who responded in kind. Councilor Tevos, ever the negotiator, tried to get the two sided to stop fighting until Aethyta with a battle-cry of "For the krogan!" bioticly threw an entire cake at her. That resulted in the now frosting-covered Councilor to lose her composure and lift up the entire seafood section with her biotics, hurling it at the other Matriarch. Jack, wanting to get in on the fun, teamed up with Grunt to assault Miranda with spaghetti. In response, Miranda flung her salad at the duo. Jacob threw up a barrier around him and Brynn after tossing a meatball (or ten) at Gabby and Ken. Unfortunately for them, Kasumi managed to sneak up behind them and overload Jacob's barrier, cackling merrily as she dumped her ramen all over his and Brynn's heads. James and Cortez got into a meatball fight with Traynor and Allers. Hannah Shepard jumped right into the fray to nail Zaeed in the face with a piece of pie while her husband was laughing with Chakwas and Adams.

Gardner, laughing at the other cooks growing distressed at seeing all their hard work being wasted, flung a pizza like a Frisbee at the nearest chef's head. Samara merely regarded the chaos around her with a shake of her head before calmly resuming her meal. Joker hid behind EDI the whole time, occasionally popping out to nail someone with a chicken breast. Javik regarded the fight with disproval, stating "This is childish." At which point, kind, sweet, gentle, Liara decided to dump her wine glass on his head. Javik snarled angrily at the asari who was doing her best to put on an innocent act and started chasing her around the room with a salarian dish in hand. Alice and Garrus teamed up against Tali and started pelting her with different foods as she shrieked. Tali managed under the bombardment to throw a dish back at Garrus, nailing him in the head and knocking him off his feet. Seeing all this, John merely turned to his new wife with a grin on his face to make a semi-witty remark…

…just in time for Ashley to smash a piece of cake in his face.

…

Stars danced around the black dome, emitting an eerie twinkling light. Sitting in a chair in the middle of the room, silhouetted by the tiny dots of light, her hands folded neatly on her lap, was an asari woman, her silver gown glittering dimly. Behind her, a door opened, letting in the light from the white hallway beyond that was not blotted out by the dark form of a turian holding a holopad stepping through.

Not glancing behind her, the asari addressed the new arrival, "Report?"

The turian looked down at the holopad in his hands. "Our agents have located the secret base, you were right, it was inside."

A faint smile touched the asari's lips "When am I not? Tell them to bring it back here and have our techs install it into the ship's network."

The turian nodded "Yes madam, also our scientist would like to report that the latest subject in Experiment #379-1 failed to develop the nervous system you required. It has been terminated and fully harvested."

The asari nodded, her smile gone "Really? A pity, tell them to try again." There was a pause as the asari waited for the turian to continue. When he did not, the asari turned so that the shadow of her face was revealed in profile. "Is that all?"

The turian hesitated before speaking again. "No madam, there is something else: Commander Shepard is alive."

The asari seemed to mull this over "I see, and what of the sister and her turian?"

"Alive as well, and as best as our spies can guess, still together." The turian said.

The asari smiled "Well then, it's not a major setback, we'll just have to alter our plans a little."

The turian nodded "When do you wish to move?"

The asari's smile broadened "Patience, the hunter who waits, catches his prey. And this prey will be well worth it, I assure you…"

…

**A/N: Duh, duh, DUH! That's right ladies and gentlemen! You'll be seeing more of Alice, John, Ashley, and Garrus that's for sure! So keep an eye out for the next installment under FemShep/Garrus called "Taken" that should be up not long after I complete a short little 5-chapter fic about Alice and Garrus meeting his family called "Guess Who I Brought Home!" **

**As always please let me know what I did well and what I can improve on!**


End file.
